Think 101 traffic is bad now? Wait until the Parkmerced project kicks in

The SF Examiner had a story the other day that should worry the "smart growth" advocates in the city's Planning Dept., though like all religions that belief system will probably survive this and all other contacts with reality. Turns out that traffic on Highway 101 has become much worse in just the last two years:

It takes a whopping 40 minutes to drive south on U.S. Highway 101 through San Mateo County during the evening weekday rush hour, up from 29 minutes in 2009, according to a report commissioned by the San Mateo City/County Association of Governments. The morning commute also went up six minutes to a 34-minute average. Yet officials are perplexed as to why. “We’re scratching our heads with that,” said John Hoang of the [San Mateo County] association’s Congestion Management Department.

Wait until the Parkmerced project adds 5,679 housing units to that part of the city, which will bring the total units on that site to 8,900. Maybe the resulting gridlock will cause all those people driving and riding in cars, trucks, and buses to see the light and start riding bikes on Highway 101, thus vindicating City Hall's clueless development and traffic policies.

In any event, those in City Hall responsible for these heedless policies will be long retired on their lavish city pensions by the time Parkmerced and other developments on 19th Avenue are completed.